Occupational Folklife Project

Julia Gartrell, photographer. Anita Hackett interview conducted by Katy Clune and Julia Gartrell, 2021-05-17. Fixing, Mending, Making New: North Carolina's Repair Professionals: Archie Green Fellows Project, 2020-2021 AFC 2020/009. Library of Congress, American Folklife Center.

The American Folklife Center directs the Occupational Folklife Project (OFP), launched in 2010 as a multi-year initiative to document the culture of contemporary American workers during an era of economic and social transition. To date, fieldworkers across the United States, supported by funding from AFC's competitive Archie Green Fellowships, have recorded more than 2,000 audio and audiovisual oral history interviews with workers in more than one hundred trades, industries, crafts and professions. Their interviews are being incorporated into the American Folklife Center archive at the Library of Congress and are available online through the Occupational Folklife Project website.

The interviews, which average 50-60 minutes in length, feature workers discussing their current jobs and formative work experiences, reflecting on their training, on-the-job challenges and rewards, aspirations, and occupational communities. In many cases, interviewees are asked to trace the career choices and educational paths that led them to their present jobs and careers and share their thoughts on the future of their professions.

Many of the Occupational Folklife Projects highlight specific trades and states or geographic regions, a smaller number focus on workers of specific ethnic and racial groups or genders. Below are a small sample of projects featuring each of these approaches. To see all OFP collections, please visit the Occupational Folklife Project digital collection page.

Selected Occupational Folklife Project Collections

Some Occupational Folklife Project (OFP) collections highlight specific trades and occupations, including health care, agriculture, maritime trades, heavy industry, small businesses, service and entertainment jobs, and more. Included below are a small sample of these trade-focused OFP projects.

Baton Rouge Small Businesses and Trades : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2014-2015
AFC 2014/023: Collection of approximately 31 interviews includes sound recordings, photographs, interview logs, and transcriptions of oral history interviews documenting the histories, occupational cultures, and experiences of multigenerational small business owners and trades people in Louisiana's capitol city and surrounding parishes.
Cultural Traditions of Ironworkers in America's Upper Midwest : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2010-2013
AFC 2001/062: Collection of field recordings of oral history interviews with 26 iron workers in Wisconsin and Illinois conducted by folklorists James P. Leary and Clark D. (Bucky) Halker, with photographs, interview logs and transcriptions.
Dairy Farm Workers in New York's North Country : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2012-2013
AFC 2012/033: In 2012, folklorist Hannah Harvester, director of the non-profit organization Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY), received an Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center to document the occupational folklife of dairy farmers and farm workers in New York State's North Country. Harvester and her colleagues recorded oral histories with local dairy farm owners, farm workers, agricultural agents and others involved in the local dairy economy--including a local banker involved in farm loans.
Taking care : Documenting the Occupational Culture of Home Health Care Workers : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2014-2015
AFC 2014/021: Collection of audio and video oral history interviews with workers who provide home-based care for the elderly and the disabled in the state of Oregon. The interviews document the work life of home care workers, personal support workers, and direct support professionals for adults with developmental and mental disabilities and the elderly in Oregon.
Working the Waterfront, New Bedford, Massachusetts : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2016-2017
AFC 2016/036: The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center (NBFHC) recorded oral histories with 58 workers involved in diverse fishing-related trades in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Documented trades range from fish packers to net makers, navigational electronic technicians to marine divers, and maritime upholsterers to ice house workers.

Some Occupational Folklife Projects (OFP) highlight workers in specific states or regions of the United States such as the Upper Midwest, Louisiana or Central Appalachia. Included below are a small sample of these region-focused OFP projects.

Homeless Shelter Workers in the Upper Midwest : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2016-2017
AFC 2016/034: Social services worker, writer and documentarian Margaret Miles of Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a 2016 Archie Green Fellowship to document workers in the emergency homeless services in three interrelated Midwestern urban centers--Bismarck, North Dakota, Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota, and Chicago, Illinois. This collection consists of 18 interviews and includes oral histories with shelter workers serving diverse communities of clients, including ex-offenders, abused women, LGBTQ and Native American youth, and HIV/AIDS positive individuals.
Independent Professional Wrestlers in Central Appalachia : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2019-2020
AFC 2019/029: Collection consists of 12 audio interviews accompanied by photographs documenting the occupational folklore and work-related culture of independent professional wrestlers working the sports and entertainment circuit in central Appalachian, who discuss their work, their training, and their relationship with their competitors and their fans.
Rural Free Delivery : Mail Carriers in Central Appalachia : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2021-2022
AFC 2021/010: This collection of interviews documents the expressive culture and experiences of 25 rural mail carriers and clerks (formerly known as postmasters) in the upper mountain South (VA, WV, KY, OH, and NC). It focuses, in particular, on the function they serve as lifelines in their community, as well as how their place of work -- rural post offices -- function as invaluable community hubs in remote rural areas.
Washington State Workers : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2012-2013
AFC 2012/032: Collection of 20 interviews featuring sound recordings, photographs, moving images, interview logs and some transcripts documenting the culture and traditions of a cross section of union workers in the State of Washington. Interviewees include teachers, newspaper guild members, dock workers, electricians, linemen, marine engineers, printers, flight attendants, grocery workers, librarians, stage crews, machinists, musicians, postal workers, merchant seamen, labor organizers, theater employees, and members of the building and construction trades.

Some Occupational Folklife Projects are organized around specific identities, such as an ethnic group or gender. The OFP includes materials related to African American, Asian American, and immigrant communities and projects focused on women workers. Included below are a small sample of these identity-focused projects.

Finding Roots : Asian American Farmers in Contemporary America : Occupational Folklife Project, 2020-2021
AFC 2020/014: Vermont-based researcher Katie Reuther conducted an OFP on Asian American Farmers, documenting the unique voices and experiences of 21 Asian American farmers and 1 fisherman, focusing primarily on Generation Y "Millennials." Although approximately 22,000 Asian American farmers currently make up less than 1% of farmers across the United States, they have long played a significant role in the nation's food and agricultural landscape.
Ethnic Grocers in the Urban Midwest : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2014-2015
AFC 2013/016: Collection of oral history interviews documenting the occupational folklore of ethnic grocery store owners and workers in the Midwest. Interviewees include store workers, managers and owners, and representatives of shops catering to Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, Central and Eastern European communities in and around Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo, Ohio.
The Green Book : Documenting African American Entrepreneurs, 2018-2019
AFC 2018/029: In 2018, scholar and documentarian Candacy Taylor received an Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center to document contemporary business owners and employees who work for more than a dozen still-active businesses that were listed in The Green Book, a historically significant travel guide published from 1937 and 1967. The Green Book listed businesses--e.g., restaurants, hotels, barbershops, taverns, drug stores, and garages--that welcomed African American customers.
Immigrant Women Artists in Oklahoma : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2020-2021
AFC 2020/011: This collection consists of 10 interviews conducted by oral historian Dr. Julie Pearson-Little Thunder of Oklahoma State University, who received an Archie Green Fellowship to document the occupational culture of professional women artists who have immigrated to Oklahoma and explore how they reestablished themselves and continue to pursue art as their occupation in their new environments.

Folklife Today
The American Folklife Center's blog for readers interested in folklore, folklife and oral history, frequently features articles and posts about the Occupational Folklife Project and AFC work-related collections, activities and programming. Examples of such articles include:

Celebrating the Online Launch of the Fiftieth Occupational Folklife Project – And How It Got There! May 15, 2024

New Occupational Folklife Project Documents African American Nurses and the Chi Eta Phi Sorority. April 29, 2024

Rural Free Delivery: Folklorist Emily Hilliard and the Occupational Folklife Collection, “Mail Carriers of Central Appalachia." December 15, 2023

Teaching in Wisconsin Classrooms: New Occupational Folklife Project Collection Documents Some of America’s Most Essential Workers. September 20, 2021

"A Culture of Caring”: Documenting Home Health Care Workers. February 21, 2019

Everybody Works: Documenting Circus Life in Hugo, Oklahoma. December 3, 2018

To subscribe to this free online resource, select this link: Folklife Today

Occupational Folklife: Resources in the American Folklife Center

Occupational Folklife Project

Selected Occupational Folklife Project Collections